Circle Go (for iPhone)

When Circle Go is installed on your children's iOS devices, it extends the reach of the Circle with Disney whole-network parental control device. Its protection and monitoring continues even outside the home network.

By Neil J. Rubenking

16 Jun 2016, 5:15 p.m.

Installing parental control software on every device your kids use is a Sisyphean task. For households with a ton of devices, a whole-network solution makes a lot of sense. You manage every device on the network from a single, central control point. The problem is, once the kids go out the door, once they're not on your home network, all control and monitoring ceases. Circle Go aims to solve that problem, at least for mobile devices. Available now for iPhone and soon for Android, Circle Go extends the reach of the hardware-based Circle with Disney parental control device beyond the home network. In testing, I found the experience of roaming with Circle Go indistinguishable from the hardware-based in-network experience.

A Circle Go subscription costs $9.95 per month and lets you protect up to 10 iOS devices. If you decide you don't like it before 30 days have elapsed, you can get your money back. It's not an independent product; you can't even sign up for a subscription if the Circle website doesn't detect the Circle with Disney device on your network. And you don't just go sign up. Instead, you enter your email address and wait for an invitation, which, according to the site, might come right away or might take a week or more. For me, it took one day.

Pros

Cons

Currently only compatible with iOS.
Easily turned off.
Expensive.

Bottom Line

The Circle Go iPhone app extends the reach of the Circle with Disney whole-network parental control system.
When Circle Go is installed on your children's iOS devices, monitoring continues even when they leave the home network.